


May I Dine With You

by delphia2000



Category: Kung Fu: The Legend Continues
Genre: Drama, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-18
Updated: 2009-11-18
Packaged: 2017-10-03 06:46:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delphia2000/pseuds/delphia2000





	May I Dine With You

"What's for lunch? It had better not be that tofu stuff."

Peter didn't turn away from his cooking, merely commenting, "Nice to see you too, Kermit. Dare I ask how your day has been so far?"

Kermit sighed and ran his fingers thru his hair before reaching under his sunglasses to rub his eyes. It had been a long night and an even longer morning. "Sorry, Peter. Didn't mean to take it out on you. Imagine your worst day at the precinct and then double it. Retiring to the priesthood is beginning to look good to me too."

"Somehow, I can't see you in a yellow robe, although that one haircut had you close to a shaved head and you carried that off well."

The tired detective tossed his trench coat carelessly onto the meditation platform that still occupied part of the kitchen area. Peter hadn't changed much in his father's loft, but Kermit doubted it had anything to do with fear of his father's disapproval.

In the months since his father's latest walkabout, Peter had very much become his own man, or priest as it were. The loft had made some concessions to Peter's tastes, but still reflected the new life he'd embraced. Chinatown had embraced him as well, as a substitute for his father at the moment, but Peter had indicated that was fine with him. Eventually, the community would come to know his ways as well as they knew those of his father's and Lo Si's. Peter had opened the Kwoon again and was teaching Tai Chi and Kung Fu, leaving Lo Si to attend to the apothecary matters.

There was a fine sense of balance here; something he could well use right about now.

"So what had you up all night, Kermit?" Peter asked as he set some cutlery on the table.

"Sewage," Kermit snarled. "Human scum who suck the life out of the most helpless of victims. I've been helping the FBI track down some purveyors of Internet porn….kiddy porn to be exact. Took a shower this morning down in the locker room, but I still feel dirty after all that."

Opening a cabinet above his head, Peter took down some dishes and set them on the table behind him. "Did you get them?"

"Call came in just as I was leaving. Shut down 3 of the 4. The last one is apparently out of our jurisdiction, but they've put Interpol onto it."

Peter opened the refrigerator. "Beer?"

Kermit shook his head as he sat down at the table. "If I start drinking now, I won't stop till I fall over. Just some ice tea, if you have it."

"Of course."

"One of them was barely an adult himself. Just 19. The agent said he was running it from home while going to college part time. His folks didn't question what kind of web sites he was running. Just knew they didn't have to pay for his schooling so it was okay with them. It wasn't okay he was putting pictures of his little sister there however. They won't be paying for his lawyer either. His site was the tamest of the four. "

Peter set a tall glass of iced tea in front of the weary detective. "How old was the girl?"

"Twelve. Apparently he was paying her to pose for what he told her was fashion pictures. Like Brittany Spears. He claimed he didn't think he was doing anything wrong. What are kids coming to these days, Peter?"

"They are what they've always been, Kermit, mainly products of their environment, referencing the aforementioned Brittany. They learn by example."

"Which brings us to why you really asked me to lunch, doesn't it, Peter? You want me to drop the charges on Jude Ho."

Peter turned back to attend the food on the little gas stove. "He didn't steal your car, Kermit."

Kermit set the glass of tea down after taking a healthy swig. "I caught him red-handed, Peter. That's pretty damning evidence."

Peter began to dish out food from the various pots he'd been stirring. Noodles came first, followed by a stir-fry of some kind, ladled on top of the noodles. "You caught him parking your car, Kermit. He didn't steal it…he was returning it."

"He left it on the street after joy-riding, or would have if I hadn't spotted it and tailed him in that atrocious Focus from the rental agency."

Peter used a pair of chopsticks to fish small rolls of some kind from a pan, setting two on each plate. "Exactly. On the street. Not in some dark alley where it would have been stripped in minutes."

"The damn wing mirror was broken," Kermit sulked. "He didn't deny stealing it, Peter. We also have a witness."

"He didn't confess to taking it either. Few people can tell the difference between Jude and his brother, Simon. They were born less than a year apart. They could be twins."

Kermit accepted the dish Peter offered. "So you think he's covering for his brother?"

Peter took the other chair at the table as Kermit dug into the food. Casually setting a napkin to one side, he passed over the chopsticks in favor of the fork and stirred his food a bit as he answered, "I've no doubt of it, but if you want concrete evidence, I can't help you."

Kermit swallowed and asked, "Can't or won't?"

"Can't. I don't know what really went down…but I can guess. Simon has been hanging with the Beverly Street Gang lately. You know their leader Rick Chan has it in for you. I would guess it was a gang challenge for acceptance for Simon. But Simon also happens to be the sole support for him and Jude and their grandmother. Take away Simon and she's on the street. Jude won't let that happen, even if he has to sacrifice himself." Peter gave Kermit a meaningful look as he twirled some noodles onto his fork.

Kermit took another drink of tea as he considered his options. He was angry at the insults his beloved Corvair had suffered, but his sense of justice was also determined to make the real perp pay, not some scapegoat.

"He's aiding and abetting Grand Theft Auto by covering for the brother. And what's to stop Simon from completing his next task from the Bev's? Suppose they decide he needs to off Jack Wong or some equally worthy opponent? He'll go down for a longer stretch for murder. He's just working up to it, Peter. House of cards…the kid is only a temporary support for the family…he's a crime waiting to happen. This is good, by the way. What is it? Pork or chicken?"

Peter shook his head as he finished chewing a mouthful. "Neither, nor is it tofu. It's a vegetable protein that has been flavored and textured to simulate meat. When a veteran carnivore mistakes veggies for meat, might he also mistake a troubled boy for one who is truly bad?"

Kermit sighed. "I know you want to believe that Peter. I really do. And I'd like to believe it myself, but I just don't see it. All you're giving me is theory and supposition. I need facts, proof. I know what I saw and what I saw was Jude Ho in my stolen vehicle."

"He didn't steal it, Detective Griffin…I did."

The boy stood in the doorway quietly, eyes pleading with the man who held his life in his hands. Kermit glanced over to Peter. If the priest had known the boy was coming, he gave no hint of it, just shrugging as if to say 'I didn't plan this.'

Kermit leaned back in his chair and looked the boy over carefully. Small for his 16 years of age, Simon Ho was obviously of mixed heritage, his Asian features slightly blurred by traces of African and Caucasian. The not-quite-trendy clothes were well worn but clean and certainly lovingly mended by the grandmother who parented him. In his arms, the boy cradled a large crumpled bag.

"If you're guilty, then why is your brother in jail?" Kermit asked.

"Because I was a coward."

"And you think coming here to tell me this, makes you less cowardly? Why didn't you come down to the precinct and turn yourself in?"

The boy shifted uneasily, the bag's crackle sounding loud in the apartment's stillness high above the bustling Chinatown streets. Peter gave Simon an encouraging smile to offset the grim stare of his dining partner.

"Jude asked me not to. He says he is happy where he is. They give him a lot of food and the grownups are nice and help him with his homework. Some of the other boys are mean, but he would rather be there than have me lose my job. If I'm not working, Jude and Grandmother will have to leave the apartment and go live in the shelter."

The awfulness of it struck home to Kermit. How bad could that boy's life be that he'd prefer the meager comforts of a jail to that of a homeless shelter? But that still left the problem of Simon. "Do you think you should get off scott-free then, just because you're the breadwinner?"

The boy shook his head and moved into the room. "I am not free. Like my brother, I am in a jail, but one of my own making. Grandmother and I are separated from my brother and I must live with the knowledge that I put him there. Now I must not only do my work, but all the things Jude did to help care for us. And I must find a way to make reparation to you."

He carefully set the bag on the table in front of the angry detective. "A gift?" Kermit asked. "Are you trying to bribe me?"

The boy looked a bit panicky for a second. "No. That's not it. It's…open it. Please."

Reaching into the bag with one hand, and feeling the weight, Kermit found he had to grasp with both hands to lift the old wing mirror from its wrapping. "It took many phone calls, many hours of looking and a full morning to go and get this, but they assured me it was the right kind," the boy explained. "I've spoken to Tommy Chong who owns John St. Auto Body. He will mount it for you and I will pay him by cleaning up in the evenings. I know it will not make right what I did, but it will make your car right again. Please, accept this as my personal apology to you."

Kermit set the mirror back on top of the bag and scrutinized the boy carefully, detecting only true remorse in the boy. "You seem to have thought this out very well, but what of your future?"

"I will have no time for the street brotherhoods if that is what you ask."

Kermit nodded and then looked to Peter. "I accept your apology, however, I'm still an officer of the law…laws that you broke. I have a duty to every citizen of this city. You wouldn't do half your job…do you expect me to do only half of mine?"

"No, sir," the boy answered quietly, his face falling.

"Good. Then after lunch, we'll go to the precinct together and see to it that Jude is set free to help with your grandmother. If I refuse to press charges, I think the magistrate can be convinced to accept your reparations and some community service in lieu of jail time."

"Can Master Caine go with us?" Simon asked somewhat fearfully.

Peter nodded. "I'll be happy to come along. We'll collect your grandmother on the way. They'll need her signature to release Jude. And we can stop by the community services office afterwards and see what programs qualify for help with the rent and food."

"Grandmother won't take charity," Simon spoke up quickly, "She says it is shameful and only for lazy people."

"Then we will explain to her that it is not charity to permit one's friends the opportunity to aid one another. I will arrange for Lo Si to be there also to help her understand what honors an elder should accept as their due. Have you had lunch yet?" Peter asked as he stood up to get another chair.

At the boy's negative response, he also brought out another plate and began to serve up food for him. Simon hesitated and looked to Kermit. "Do you mind if I dine with you?"

Surprised, Kermit answered, "I've broken bread with worse company. Sit. And start working on a plan to spread a cover story about how I caught you. If word gets around that criminals are turning themselves in, I might end up out of work and on the streets myself. Besides, I don't want people to get the idea I'm a pushover. Appearances can be deceiving; in my case, I'd like to keep it that way for the sake of street cred. Deal?"

The end.


End file.
